Common Pochard

Aythya ferina (Linnaeus, 1758)

		male female
2019-05-13 Krasnoyarsk Territory, Shushensky District 2015-06-25 Irkutsk. Novoleninskie Marsh.	© Sergey Chumakov © Mihail Ivanov

Distribution

Common and locally numerous in steppe and forest-steppe of Siberia. As rare or local species, goes to middle and northern taiga, for example, to middle Lena River in Yakutia. In mountain areas rare or absent.

Biology

Inhabits fresh and salty steppe lakes and rivers with well developed reed-beds, prefers deep water, both on plains and in mountains up to 1500 m in Altai. Appears somewhat later than river ducks, in middle April. Migrates in separate flocks from some dozen up to 100-150 birds. As a rule, movement is finished by mid-May. Nest is built in reed-beds, on shallow water or on meadow tussocks and in flooded forests from dry reed leaves and other vegetation and lined with down. Clutches of 5-14 eggs in late April – end June. Female incubates 24-26 days. Juveniles hatch end May – early July, and begin to fly end July – late August. After females begin incubation, males gather on large deep lakes and moult (end May – mid-July). Autumn migration begins in Augist-September, peak movement middle September.

References

В.К.Рябицев. "Птицы Сибири". Москва-Екатеринбург, Изд-во "Кабинетный ученый", 2014.